A water pipe smoking apparatus to which the present invention pertains include those pipe apparatus which do not provide a storage compartment, those pipe apparatus having a cylindrical, weighted base member onto which an elongated cylindrical vessel body is fixedly attached, and those pipe apparatus which have a detachable vessel body, but do not have a weighted base for apparatus upright stability. Typically, the cylindrical vessel body includes a mid-length entry port for attachment of a stem member which comprises the bowl for the smoking substance. The elongated vessel body contains water which filters the smoking substance. In pipe apparatus having a fixedly attached base structure, the cleaning task after use is a drawback from a consumer point of view. Representative of this type of pipe apparatus, is an embodiment with the ornamental aspects of the pipe apparatus depicted in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 265,595. Representative of those pipe apparatus which have a detachable vessel body, but do not have a weighted base for apparatus upright stability, are embodiments taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,885 which teaches a removable sealing device for a water pipe body, U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,383 which teaches a water pipe body removable from a chamber and retained using rubber pieces around the vessel body, U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,390 which teaches a gibbous-like base reservoir that weights and stabilizes the pipe device with a low center of gravity, U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,237 which teaches a removable lower cap that allows access to the lower end of tube 12 for cleaning, U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,230 which teaches a neoprene plug that expands or contracts as required to facilitate removal of the water pipe body, U.S. Pat. No. 4,044,781 which teaches a cap removable from the bottom end of the tube body using a threaded means. U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,432 is of interest for teaching a filter section attached to a base container that is weighted by water and which appears to be removable from the filter section. U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,152 is also of interest for teaching a storage compartment at the upper mouth end of the pipe device.
While the prior art has addressed the pipe apparatus cleaning problem associated with having a fixed vessel member as part of the pipe apparatus, the solutions have not been widely accepted for reasons associated with high cost to produce and with inadequate structure to effect the cleaning task. Also, the need for a storage compartment persist because the locations taught and implemented by the prior art pipe apparatus devices are deemed impractical.
Thus, a need is seen to exist for a weighted base structure which facilitates removal of a tubular vessel member of a pipe apparatus and which provides an optional storage compartment at the bottom end of the weighted base structure.